Polymers of carbon monoxide and olefins, generally referred to as polyketones, are well known in the art. The polyketone polymers of this invention are of a specific alternating type. Such polymers have utility as premium thermoplastics in the manufacture of a wide variety of articles.
While these polyketone polymers are preferred in some applications, they are sometimes not preferred in others; for example, in applications which require good tribological properties. Examples of such applications include gears, belt chains, plane and roller bearings, linear bearings, sleeve bearings, pulleys, and sliding plates.
Typically polyacetal and Nylon 66 modified with external lubricants are used in such applications. It is believed that the relative poor performance of polyketone polymers in comparison to polyacetal may be due to their high dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF). As an illustration, while polyacetal has a DCOF of from 0.3-0.4 units, polyketone polymers have a DCOF of from 0.7-0.9 units.
It is known that the use of agents such as processing aids and lubricants aids the lubricity of non-polyketone type polymers. The present invention aims at lowering DCOF of polyketone polymers by blending with such agents.